Maiocco’s Observations: 49ers escape with win vs. Seahawks on TNF originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SEATTLE — This is ridiculous.
The 49ers proved, once again, they cannot have good things.
Good things, in this case, mean seemingly comfortable second-half leads against division opponents.
But a rookie and a couple of their big-time players came through in the clutch to prevent another embarrassing defeat.
Rookie cornerback Renardo Green intercepted Geno Smith, who appeared to be on the verge of leading the Seattle Seahawks to a big comeback victory. And Brock Purdy and George Kittle teamed up for their second touchdown of the game, as the 49ers held on for a 36-24 victory on Thursday.
Coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers have turned blowing double-digit leads into an art form. And it looked as if they were well on their way toward doing it again until some late-game heroics.
Of course, it was much too early in the season for this to be considered a must-win game.
But that is how the 49ers chose to approach their Week 6 game against the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers played with urgency and set the tone from the beginning but they could not keep the momentum going for four quarters.
San Francisco entered the game winless against NFC West opponents, losing to the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. They blew double-digit second-half leads in both of those losses. The 49ers entered the week 0-3 against the NFC.
Here are three takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 6 matchup against the Seahawks:
Red zone problems, solution
The 49ers put together quite a game-opening drive after taking over at the 3-yard line after an interception.
But the series ended as many others have for the 49ers this season.
The 49ers got into the red zone and then stalled.
Matthew Wright, filling in for injured Jake Moody, connected on a 25-yard field goal.
The 49ers entered as one of the worst red-zone teams in the league after being the best in the NFL a year ago.
They finally figured it out early in the third quarter when Purdy made a remarkable throw to Kittle against tight coverage. Kittle, who celebrated his 31st birthday Wednesday, made the catch and expertly got both feet inbounds for a 10-yard touchdown.
The pair teamed up again in the fourth quarter to extend the 49ers’ lead with a 9-yard scoring hookup.
Purdy completed 18 of 28 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the game. His passer rating was 129.3.
The 49ers went 0-for-2 in the red zone in the first half.
The 49ers found a novel way to avoid their red zone issues early in the second quarter when Purdy hit Deebo Samuel for a 76-yard touchdown.
Purdy got the pass to Purdy deep down the field before Seattle safety Julian Love could range over. Samuel escaped the grasp of Love, then outran Boye Mafe en route to the end zone.
The 49ers settled for another short field goal after another red-zone failure near the end of the first half.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was dumped for a 3-yard loss on a screen pass from Purdy on a third-and-11 play when left guard Aaron Banks was not able to get out to block Seattle linebacker Jerome Baker.
Another special-teams blunder
Special teams have been an adventure for the 49ers this season.
And they found yet another way on Thursday night to give their opponent a giant jolt of momentum.
This time, the 49ers surrendered only the second touchdown in the NFL this season under their new kickoff format.
At the time, the 49ers had a 20-point lead. The Seahawks ended up charging right back into the game.
Laviska Shenault, who earlier in the game turned it over to the 49ers on a fumbled kick return, found an opening and took it 97 yards for a touchdown.
Jalen Graham had the best chance to stop Shenault but only put a shoulder on him and did not wrap up as he blasted through the first wave of would-be tacklers.
Up to that point, the Seahawks had managed just three points and trailed 23-3 and appeared to have little chance.
The kick return for a touchdown is just another big play the 49ers have surrendered on special teams this season.
In a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the 49ers gave up a blocked punt that led to a touchdown. The following week, the Rams converted a fake punt and had a long punt return to contribute greatly to their come-from-behind victory over the 49ers. The 49ers also lost a fumble on a kickoff against the New England Patriots.
Mustapha excels, injured in second start
Rookie safety Malik Mustapha made a considerable impact in his second NFL start before leaving the game late in the first half with an ankle injury.
He did not return, and now his status for future weeks is in serious question.
While he was out there, Mustapha excelled.
The Seahawks drove down the field without much resistance on the first series of the game before Mustapha was in position to come up with a takeaway deep in 49ers territory.
Mustapha gathered in quarterback Gino Smith’s overthrow on a pass intended for Tyler Lockett at the 2-yard line. His momentum carried him out of bounds after a 1-yard return.
Mustapha showed the versatility to play deep in coverage and he also made a mark close to the line of scrimmage when he was partly responsible for a first-half three-and-out when he stopped Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III for a 3-yard loss on a first-down running attempt.
Mustapha, a fourth-round draft pick from Wake Forest, figures to be in the starting lineup for a while.
The 49ers placed safety Talanoa Hufanga on injured reserve this week due to torn ligaments in his right wrist. Hufanga will miss at least four games.
George Odum replaced Mustapha and made a nice play deep down the field in the second half to break up a potential big play to DK Metcalf.
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